More residents using Lafourche libraries

Last year, the number of Lafourche Parish Public Library System visits, items circulated and people attending programs all increased.

Katina GaudetLafourche Parish Public Library System

Last year, the number of Lafourche Parish Public Library System visits, items circulated and people attending programs all increased, a good indication, library officials said, that more residents are taking advantage of their local library and its wealth of resources.Library users made nearly 324,000 visits to Lafourche Parish’s nine branches in 2012, up more than 19 percent from the Library System’s 2011 total. More than 388,000 items were loaned out last year, everything from books, magazines, DVDs, eBooks and laptop computers — besting 2011’s numbers.

This year looks to be better, officials say, as the Library System is offering additional services and programs to residents. In early February, the Library System unveiled Freegal Music Service, a program that allows those with a library card to download free music ranging from hip-hop and country to pop, classical and more. You’ll find some of today’s most popular artists and lots of favorites from years past.Cardholders can download three free songs each week from the Library System’s website at www.lafourche.org. Look for the Freegal Music icon to get started. All you’ll need is your library card number and a PIN number. Drop by your local Lafourche Parish library to establish a PIN, and call your local branch for help using Freegal, if you need it.

More people — young and old — are attending library programs, with library program attendance topping 111,000 in 2012. From story hour and social media classes to eBooks and exercise programs, the Library System has something for everyone.Library System staff members work hard to bring new and exciting programs to the library, and library officials said the system is doing more with grant funding than ever before. Staff members are excited about a number of grant awards the Library System has received in the past few months. Recently, the Library System was named an American Dream Library by the American Library Association.A literacy initiative for adult English-language learners — the American Dream Starts @ Your Library grant — is a national grant funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. It provides money for libraries to add or expand literacy services in their communities. The Library System was one of 44 libraries to receive the grant out of the hundreds that applied.The South Lafourche Library — 16241 E. Main St., Cut Off — applied for and received a $7,746 American Dream grant to pay for free English as a Second Language classes this year at the South Lafourche Library; Golden Meadow Library, 1403 N. Bayou Drive; and Larose Library, 305 E. 5th St. The classes are tentatively set to begin in April. Those interested in attending should call Nadia, who speaks Spanish, at 632-7140.Residents can learn about our nation’s past and other cultures through grant programs from the Thibodaux and Lockport libraries and other grant programs.The Thibodaux and Lockport libraries received a Civil War 150 grant through the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Library of America and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. The program features an interactive display at the Lockport Library, 720 Crescent Ave., about the Civil War, as well as lectures, book discussions, musical performances, craft activities and more at both branches.Be on the lookout also for new books exploring Islamic culture.The Thibodaux Library recently won a Muslim Journeys Bookshelf grant. The bookshelf, which contains more than two dozen books, will hit the shelves at the Thibodaux Library, 705 W. 5th St.; Lockport and South Lafourche libraries.For information on what your library has to offer you, call your local library branch or visit www.lafourche.org.

Katina Gaudet is the reference librarian at the South Lafourche Library. She can be reached at 632-7140 or kgaudet@lafourche.org.

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